BROCKENHURST boss Pat McManus always believed his side would eventually take their chances in their FA Vase triumph of New Forest neighbours New Milton.

A bumper crowd of 857 took in a keenly contested game at the Meadens Skoda Arena, with favourites Brockenhurst proving their worth with second-half goals courtesy of Matt Sheedy and Alex Haynes.

The scoreline could have been even more convincing if a first-half Sheedy goal was not chalked off for a tight offside.

With the Badgers flying in a higher division compared to their opponents, and enjoying home advantage, pressure might have taken a toll on Brock's players, but McManus told the Daily Echo that his side dealt with the occasion well.

McManus told the Daily Echo: “I think some of them felt some of the pressure early on. In regards to the game, first half we weren’t really under threat from New Milton.

"Their goalkeeper had a very good first-half. He made three excellent saves when I thought we should have scored, three one-on-ones, and we had a goal disallowed.

“Some would have said (it was a) marginal offside. I didn't have a great view of it, but there were a few spectators who had a good view of it and it divided opinion amongst them, but it was offside.

“So in regards to chances, (New Milton) didn't have a first-half chance. We had four chances, so I was disappointed that we came in at the break 0-0.

“I felt we were in complete control. We could have been better with the ball, from a possession point of view. We gave up possession too easily at times.

“Some of our players were affected by the occasion, which we asked them not to be, but sometimes that's out of your control.”

What ever was said in the Brockenhurst changing room clearly had an impact as Sheedy steered past Luke Dennison just nine minutes into the second period.

“But when we came out second half, again, it was a controlled performance,” continued McManus.

“New Milton applied as much pressure as they could, and didn't give up at any point, but I felt we were in complete control.

“I always felt that as soon as we scored the first goal that we would go on to score another one. And that's what we did.”

In the final 10 minutes, Brock’s top goalscorer Silvano Obeng missed a golden opportunity to seal the game from the spot, smacking his penalty onto the bar.

McManus continued: “Obviously, we missed the penalty - that was disappointing, but didn't have a bearing on result itself.

“To be honest, as a management group we didn’t feel under pressure, we always felt confident. We tried to convey this to the players, to feel confident, don't go out still pressurised.

“We tried to convey to them that all they had to do was perform to their abilities and to their level, because we're always confident that what we had in our dressing room - without being arrogant - was better than was in the opposing dressing room.

“Yes, they would have an underdog mentality, but we tried to convey to the players, don't let that mentality overtake your ability.

“All you have to do was perform. And, for the majority of the time they did.

“There was I would say there's a 10-15 minutes spell where I think the occasion took over and once they got over that, like I said, I felt that it was a controlled and comfortable performance.

“I really felt it was just a matter of time before we scored and that's how it turned out.”